 |
| Lea Seydoux as the chambermaid. |
 |
| Map showing Provence in the South of France. |
-Brian Mendonca
Diary of a Chambermaid (2015) directed by Benoit Jacqot is a slice of life of Parisian society in the late 19th century. It is based on a novel by Octave Mirabeau (1848-1917). Written in 1900 the story has inspired filmic versions by Jean Renoir (1946), Luis Bunuel (1964) and Benoit Jacqot.
The theme - that of the predicament of a young woman in search of employment - is echoed in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969) by British writer John Fowles. Sarah Woodruff and Celestine both are pining in some way for a man. They seek to better their lives, stuck as they are in their own sordid circles of being a governess (Sarah) or a chamber maid (Celestine).
Both are fiercely individualistic and cavil against authority. Celestine mutters her protest under her breath. 'She is even counting the prunes,' she hisses of Mrs. Lanlaire. Mr, Lanlaire is a lech who Celestine must keep at arms length. However it is the cook Marianne who receives his unwanted attentions instead.
Repressed desire is simmers in the movie. When the police ask Mrs. Lanlaire to reveal what is in the box she carries she reveals it is a dildo. The sexual hypocrisy is apparent even in French Lieutenant's Woman (FLW) where Fowles - through his epigraphs on the social life of London - points out the umpteen brothels which existed during the Victorian age, notwithstanding its prudery in matters of sex.
Celestine does not hesitate to pleasure herself when Georges, the sickly gent she has to take care of is aroused by her. Knowing fully well that that any heightened activity will bring on an attack she indulges anyway and ends up killing him. The scene with the blood on her mouth after the act is chilling.
Like Celestine decides when and with whom to satisfy her desire, so also Sarah decides when to seduce and lose her virginity with Charles. That she will bring up his child singly does not seem an impediment. When Celestine is propositioned by the pimp she says, 'Let me think about it.' (1.04.05) A woman is valued only for her body.
Both dream of a better life away from the place and life they have known. Sarah pines for the French lieutenant who has deserted her, has gone to France, and has got married. Celestina finds herself complete in the arms of Joseph, the gardener on the grounds of the Lanlaire estate. Together they flee for a better life to the port town of Cherbourg in Northern France where there are a lot of sailors, and where sex is in high demand. Though she objects when this idea is proposed to her at first she eventually leaves with Joseph.
For Sarah the prospect is more bleak, fearing that her going to London may result in her being shut up in a mental asylum. There is more agency in Celestine who decides to take her chances - silver ware and all. However it does not take even 5 minutes into the movie for the job agent to say, ' You're unstable. You're not reliable,' (2.21) Celestine, stung by the opprobrium can only say, 'If you say so.'
The display of her mantle pieces by Mrs. Lanlaire disgusts Celestine. 'Would you send a cracked chamber-pot to London?' (7.16) she mutters when told that if the lamp from England were to break, it would have to be sent there for repair.
Both novels are set in the late-nineteenth century. They reveal the attitudes of the time particularly the paternal (Charles) or the patriarchal (Mr. Lanlaire). The major point of departure in Diary of a Chambermaid is that there is a killer on the loose. The said killer has raped and killed a 11-year old which speaks of the extent of the depravity that exists. This killer is confronted by the sleuth in Celestine who has seen how he twisted the neck of the mongoose for his stew. 'I didn't need her,' he says. Women are playthings in this scenario.
The duality between Paris in the centre of France and Normandy on its Northern coast is constantly hinted at. This duality is also there in the capital London vis a vis Lyme where Sarah walks in the commons. In both cases the capital is not to be trusted for all its sophistication.
Comments